Many of the Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs) inherited a system called Job Management Operation System (JMOS). As the name suggests, JMOS is used to manage jobs and is useful in tracking the status, staffing, and billing on various contracts performed on behalf of the RBOC. JMOS provides functionality in many aspects of job management, including employee time input, scheduling, and billing.
With regard to employee time input, JMOS requires employees to write down their time each day and provide their records to clerks. The clerks input the employees' time into JMOS. If the data is accepted by JMOS then it is fowarded to the payroll system (MTR) Mechanized Time Reporting system. The MTR system provides printouts back to the employees to verify the accuracy of the time reports. The employees provide the clerks with the necessary corrections which the clerks input again into JMOS. Thus, at the earliest, the time for an employee would not be provided to the MTR system until the next night. JMOS does not handle any exceptions to a regular scheduled day i.e. overtime or vacation time. This information had to be entered directly into the MTR system by the clerks.
The completion of tasks is accomplished in a similar manner. A technician, for instance, upon completion of a task would take the task off of a blue print and translate the task into a written report. The technician sends the report to a clerk who, the following day, interprets them and tries to enter them into JMOS. If the report is unintelligible, such as because the report is poorly written or was sent via facsimile, the clerk may incorrectly enter the task. If JMOS does not have a match for that task, then the clerk notifies the technician who then has to provide the correct information for entry into JMOS. The recording of a completed task would therefore take at least one full day, and possibly more, before JMOS is able to recognize the event.
The paying of contractor invoices is challenging with JMOS. When a task or tasks are completed, the contractor generates a written invoice and sends that invoice to the appropriate supervisor for approval. If the supervisor disagrees with the extent of work performed or the amount to be paid, the supervisor would note these concerns on the invoice which would be returned to the contractor. After the contractor and supervisor come to an agreement, the acceptable invoice is sent to the billing department. With the invoice, a clerk has to enter the invoice into JMOS and also some information into a voucher system in order to pay the contractor.
JMOS therefore suffers from a disadvantage in that it does not provide real-time data. As discussed above, the employees' time and the recognition of completed jobs are dated at least one day by the time they are entered into JMOS. The interface with the contractors presents even more delays in the processing of invoices and recognition of completed work. The current system requires the circulation of invoices to various departments within a company.